Prospective grooms required to be pictured alongside toilets at their homes

Prospective grooms in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh in India are posing along side toilets at their homes. The local administration has made a photograph of the groom along with the toilet a mandatory requirement for getting registered for mass marriage ceremonies and avail benefits under the Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana (MKY).

Shortage of toilets in the district led to this unique solution. Earlier, there were instructions from the social justice department that grooms having toilets in their houses would get the benefit of the Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana. The grooms were required to produce an affidavit in this regard. "With new modification, we have tried to ensure that there is no chance of fraud and wrong information from the grooms.


Wilbur Sargunaraj demonstrates how to use an eastern latrine.

"It is precisely for this reason that we didn't only ask for providing pictures of toilets, but pictures of grooms with their toilets," district collector Kavindra Kiyawat said. Couples, who marry under the MKY scheme of the state government are provided financial assistance of Rs 15,000 (£180, $270) and utility gift items.

"In towns, people are coming to get their pictures, taken on mobile phones or digital cameras, developed at our studio," Devendra Maithil, owner of Raj Digital studio at Sehore said. District in charge of social justice department, nodal agency for the implementation of MKY, K P Tripathi said, "On Monday, marriages of 184 couples were solemnized in Budhni block in the presence of the chief minister. In every case it was ensured that the groom had a toilet facility in his house."